We’re living in a world of rising interest rates, which are already fundamentally changing the real estate market. As discussed yesterday, as interest rates rise, prices should fall, all other things being equal. That’s because more expensive debt means reduced cashflow and lower returns at a given price. But, all things are not equal. In … Continue reading “How not to act in a rising interest rate environment”
Category: Brokerage
In the midst of a market disjunction
Had breakfast with a really experienced broker this morning, a guy who I think of as kind of a mentor. He started in real estate in the early 1980s and has bought and sold an unbelievable number of properties in the Echo Park area since then. I complained to him that the market feels pretty weird … Continue reading “In the midst of a market disjunction”
Whole lotta building going on…
In our areas (Silver Lake / Echo Park / etc.), there are tons of small lot subdivision projects in the works. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least four projects going in right now, and there are definitely more that I’m forgetting. So, the question for all of us apartment people, is: … Continue reading “Whole lotta building going on…”
The last 4 weeks
We brokered and / or acquired just under $7.8MM worth of Los Angeles apartment deals in the last four weeks, and there’s a lot more to come. We’ve done small deals (duplexes in Silver Lake and Echo Park), big deals (a 16 unit building in Highland Park), and tons of stuff in-between. We’ve still closing … Continue reading “The last 4 weeks”
How much to disclose pre-inspection
Had an interesting issue pop up on a brokerage deal yesterday. After we inspected, we received the prelim and transfer disclosure statement, both of which indicated that a fence ostensibly on the property we are considering buying is actually encroaching on a neighbor’s lot. Clearly, seller was aware of the situation prior to us inspecting. The … Continue reading “How much to disclose pre-inspection”
Dealing with buyer conflicts
One of the issues I deal with periodically is “buyer conflict”. By buyer conflict, I mean the situation where multiple buyers with whom we are working decide to offer on the same piece of property. As you might imagine, this presents a problem: We always want to help our clients get what they want, and … Continue reading “Dealing with buyer conflicts”
Navigating the broker/principal divide
One of the weird things about our business is that I am both a broker and a principal investor. That means I look at deals for other people and for myself. Who cares? Other brokers. Brokers make money as middlemen. Their goal is to know who’s selling and who’s buying and match the two together. Simple, … Continue reading “Navigating the broker/principal divide”
How I pick agents
Was just thinking about the commonalities among the sales agents we’ve recruited to Adaptive Realty, Inc. and thought it might make interesting for everyone. Here’s what we look for: 1. Integrity – This one is obvious. I can tolerate mistakes (the first time someone makes them; not the second). But I absolutely can not tolerate … Continue reading “How I pick agents”
A nice bit of (loan) brokering
One of my agents, Marcus, is closing on a really sweet FHA fourplex deal today for a client. It’s so attractive that I’m still kicking myself for not buying it for one of my funds (I tried, believe me). This deal was not without hiccups, to put it mildly. The client came to us with … Continue reading “A nice bit of (loan) brokering”
Just sent out a fourplex deal
If you’re on my mailing list, you received an email this afternoon with a good idea for putting out around $365k and getting back around $42k / year (and rising). For those not doing the math along with us at home, that’s a return of roughly 11.5%, not including equity build-up as you pay down … Continue reading “Just sent out a fourplex deal”